VISTA — An intoxicated driver who plowed a pickup into a family’s crowded car at an Oceanside intersection, killing a senior citizen and her two adult daughters and injuring three of their relatives, pleaded guilty April 17 to charges that include gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Mason Robert Fish, 24, was set to go to trial this week for the Feb. 5, 2019, crash that killed 74-year-old Rufina Arango Rodriguez and her daughters, 40-year-old Petra Arango and 56-year-old Eloina Arango.
Three other family members in the victims’ vehicle were injured, including Petra Arango’s then-13-year-old daughter.
Fish, who was 19 at the time, is expected to be sentenced in June to 15 years in state prison following Wednesday’s guilty pleas to all counts and allegations filed against him, Deputy District Attorney David Uyar said.
The prosecutor said that among the substances found in Fish’s system were cocaine, Xanax and Delta-9-THC.
Fish was driving along South Coast Highway just before 1 p.m. when he ran a red light at Oceanside Boulevard and crashed into the driver’s side of the victims’ 2003 Mazda sedan, according to police.
Police said the broadside impact ejected Petra Arango and her daughter, who were two of the Mazda’s four backseat passengers. Petra Arango died at a hospital, while Rufina Arango Rodriguez and Eloina Arango died at the scene.
Fish remained out of custody for much of the time after charges were filed against him, but county jail records indicate he was booked into custody Wednesday.
